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Naming Conventions
Russian names—including those from other Slavic areas—are formulaic, expressive, and creative all at the same time. To add some verisimilitude to your Slavic characters, try adhering to the following information when creating names for your characters. Remember, though, breaking these "rules" also gives some roleplaying opportunities. Just ask yourself, "Why and how did this name come about this way?" Basic formation While other languages might have optional elements that make up a person's full name, Russians possess three parts: Given Name, Patronymic, and Surname. Due to the Russian language, names will follow grammatical gender and number. For most cases, however, all you will need to know is how to make sure your name fits your character's own gender (or even nationality). Given names From your Ivan's to your Irina's, Russia houses a variety of names for your characters. The only important aspect when deciding on a given name is understanding whether or not the name is an actual given name or a diminutive (aka nickname). Example: Sasha might sound like a decent Slavic name, but it is only a nickname for both males and females (Aleksandr and Aleksandra). If you're looking for gender (in)appropriate names, consider this fast (but hardly absolute) rule: if it's a actual given name and ends in "a" or "ya," it's a female name (in Russian at least). Otherwise? It's meant for males...or a diminutive. Delightful diminutives As mentioned above, Russian given names come with diminutives that reflect either familiarity and/or affection. Unfortunately for those unfamiliar with Russian naming conventions, a single given name can give birth to a multitude of diminutives that make it hard to ascertain whom is being addressed. Example again: Aleksandr (m) can be called Alik, Alya, Sasha, Shurik, and Sanya. While many of these common diminutives exist, there is another level to this type of nicknaming that can create affectionate names by adding suffixes like -ochk(a), -en'k(a), etc. The usual name for this formation is "terms of endearment"(Google will be your friend if you want to understand what kind of names your character might be called in-game). Pesky patronymics Russian's version of the middle name, the patronymic, stems from the given name of an individual's father (e.g. Leif Erikson, Erikson serves as the patronymic). All Russians have a patronymic, and it plays a role in formal situations (see below). To create a patronymic, take the father's given name and add -evich/-ovich/-ich (for males) or -evna/-ovna/-ichna (for females). If the name ends in a consonant, use the "o" form (e.g. Ivan becomes Ivanovich or Ivanovna). If the name ends in a vowel or soft sign (transliterated as "'"), use the "e" form after dropping the last letter (e.g. Igor' becomes Igorevich or Igorevna; Aleksey becomes Alekseevich or Alekseevna). If a name ends in an "a," use the "ich/ichna" form after dropping the "a" (e.g. Nikita becomes Nikitich or Nikitichna). If your character's father is unknown, this provides you the opportunity to have a story behind their chosen patronymic. For example, did his or her mother want to hide the father by picking another name? Surnames Last names offer the best opportunity for creative expression since many words and/or phonetic combinations can act as surnames. What you should remember is that last names follow the gender of an individual (unless the surname is naturally in the neuter gender such as many Ukrainian last names that end in "o"). To make a last name that ends in a consonant feminine, simply add an "a" to the end. For example, the last name, Putin, would become Putina for a female. For last names that have an adjectival ending (e.g. -oy, or -iy Anglicized to just -y like Dostoevsky as opposed to Dostoevskiy {which is better, seriously}), convert the ending to the feminine adjectival ending, "aya." For example, Tolstoy becomes Tolstaya and Dostoevskiy becomes Dostoevskaya. Neuter surnames do not change for females (e.g. Kononenko works equally for both genders). Formalities The Russian language acknowledges formality. Russians may find it offensive or at least inappropriate if you use the wrong name for them. The main rule is to use a person's given name and patronymic if they are either your superior or deserve your respect. For example, if you are introduced to an elder named Ivan Ivanovich Libin, call him Ivan Ivanovich. For all intents and purposes, the addition of the patronymic is similar to the use of a title (e.g. Mr., Mrs., and Ms.). It is always safer to acknowledge people formally if you are unsure about their position in relation to yourself. When addressing someone with which you are on equal terms, you can use their given name or just their last name. Using the example above, if you are as well-aged as Ivan Ivanovich, you can call him either Ivan or Libin. Quick note: you will never see someone use both the given name and surname together. Diminutives come when you are very familiar with someone. Maybe you are Ivan Ivanovich's twin, you could call him Vanya (a diminutive of Ivan). We can go one more level. Say you were Ivan Ivanovich's lover, certainly you would use something very affectionate and endearing like Vanik or Vanochka, so sweet. Characternyms This overly-academic jargon refers to names that characterize any individual. Real-world examples would be the historical usage of surnames like Smith and Baker. These names provide meaning to characters, and Russian literature has its own myriad of examples. From Gogol's Chichikov (coming from the verb "to sneeze") to more Soviet names like Trakterina (yes, some people out there have been named after tractors). If you're looking to add some polish to your characters, search up the meanings behind their given names. Do they shed some new light to your character or do they serve as some form of irony? As aforementioned, surnames have their doors wide open. Is your character skittish? Maybe having a last name such as Zaytsev (comes from rabbit) might give an interesting impression for everyone your character meets. Search through a Russian dictionary and see what you find. There are no hard and set rules for converting nouns into surnames, so compare your constructions with actual last names out there. Personally, I look for -ev/-ov endings, they can work often. Helpful resources Before anything, familiarize yourself with the Russian alphabet! Many Slavic alphabets are phonetic so it can be easy to sound out many words and names. Check out this wikia's page on transliteration, so you'll know how to convert Cyrillic letters into English ones. If you're wondering what kinds of diminutives are out there...you're in trouble, there are so many out there and different formations when you consider terms of affectionate diminutives that it's hard to collect a list. Thankfully there are some lists out there that will give you snippet of the possibilities that exist.Russian Male Names (Short form should be called diminutive also).Russian Female Names. Last but not least: Russian-English dictionaries are absolutely vital if you're looking for inspiration or to learn an awesome language.http://eudict.com/ References Category:Player Resources Category:Russian Language